“A sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” was special prosecutor Robert Hur’s comment about President Joe Biden. Unfortunately, this gratuitous (politically motivated?) remark has become the focal point of an investigation that was supposed to focus on Biden’s handling of confidential documents.
I’m four months younger than the President, and this is only the latest incident making me less than enthusiastic about Joe Biden’s candidacy for re-election. From the beginning I’ve been concerned about his age, not because I fear incompetence or bad memory, but because if anything should happen to him (not unlikely among octogenarians), Kamala Harris would become President. Hers is the incompetency I fear.
As for the comment about Biden’s memory … aside from it being beyond the purview of Hur’s task, it doesn’t surprise me. I have the same problem myself. On the spur of the moment I may not be able to recall a specific bit of information — names being a primary example. It’s extremely frustrating to know I know a specific detail but can’t instantly recall it. Yet there’s nothing wrong with my thinking and reasoning. (Observers may think otherwise.)
As for Biden being “elderly” — yes, I suppose he is. But whether that is a liability is a matter of opinion. I sometimes wonder if I am now elderly, and the dictionary insists anyone over 65 is considered elderly. For whatever reason, I bridle at the notion that I’m elderly. Older, senior citizen, ageing, golden ager — sure. But somehow in my mind “elderly” calls to mind a feeble, doddering individual with a quavering voice and a shaking hand, and I’m not there yet.
Frankly, my greatest awareness of Biden’s age is seeing him walking across the White House lawn — or anywhere else. His slower pace and shortened, slightly stiffened stride remind me of myself. Joints and muscles inevitably stiffen with age. At some point a person becomes a bit more cautious and adopts a shorter stride, knowing falls are increasingly likely and could have disastrous consequences. Stamina, too, begins to wane. While Biden appears energetic and probably has a personal trainer and workout regimen, age will slow him sooner or later. (Ruth Bader Ginsburg comes to mind as an outstanding example of “later.”)
Although I don’t always agree with him (eg, much too soft on Netanyahu), I believe Biden is a good, honest, well-intentioned man with decades of invaluable experience in government. But if I had my druthers, the Democrats would have a younger candidate, although I can’t imagine who it would be, and it’s been acknowledged that if an incumbent Democratic President announces the intention to run for re-election, the party will respect that and not challenge with another candidate.
Then there’s the argument that Biden has proved he can beat Trump. Yes, that’s true. And I fervently hope it will be true again in November, although I worry that a left-leaning third-party candidate could easily cost Biden the election. Right now the race looks that tight.
(For those unaware, I’m a registered unaffiliated voter in Colorado.)
Featured image: President Biden at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, Jan. 5, 2024. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Pity Merrick Garland appointed Hur; but he was obviously striving for impartiality: I am much more positive than you, Colorado, with your question-mark about Hur’s political motivation.
I agree with everything you say in this post, as I’m your age and feeling just as you do about being ‘elderly’; but you are a much more polite person than am I – or maybe you just don’t want to be too much of a stirrer. To Australians, stirring is a way of life; and I’ll be carried off still uttering polemics. 🙂
Yes I imagine you will. And that’s what I love about you. An irrepressible Aussie. And a smart one at that. I value your opinion and wish more of my fellow Americans were as aware as you are of what’s going on in Washington.
But Aussies would probably criticize me for not knowing more about our political scene. The thing about US politics is that they matter in the world: ours don’t. :\
I sometimes regret that is the case. It’s bad enough that the US has to deal with someone like Donald Trump. I apologize to the civilized world for the dis-ease he spreads and fervently hope we do not empower him again.
I know he can beat him and ‘the old man of the sea with no memory ‘ kind of comment was really unnecessary from hur. this reminds me of comey with the Hillary comments right before the election
Wow, you have a great memory. I had to look it up to remind myself what happened. I just hate knowing this entire year is going to be focused on the election (and the first debate was last August!). Somebody needs to be doing the nation’s business — the job they were elected to do.
Related to above comments, Hillary shot herself in the foot with the “deplorables” comment. Bottom line, we just didn’t realize how deep and dark was the USA’s cavern of ignorance, racism and misogyny in 2016. The Apprentice made great use of this negative energy. As much as I’m dreading this November’s election, I’ve resigned to trump winning as an attempt to let go of the gnawing dread that awakens me at 3 am. It’s not helping. Mostly I’m angry that he’s managing to get away with attempting to destroy the most hallowed rite of citizenship: voting.
I’m convinced that “The Apprentice” is all most voters knew about Trump when they voted for him. Or maybe they believed and liked all his “birther” claims. Had they done any research at all, they’d know what a disreputable businessman he’s been. (Or worse, maybe they knew all that and loved it!)
I’m not yet losing sleep over Trump and his mindless minions, but anger, anxiety, and incredulity rise a lot during the day. Nor would a Biden re-election erase all that (considering what Trump did after Biden’s first election). Trump is a cancer on our nation. I hope I live long enough to see him in prison.
Glad you’re not losing sleep over this slow motion disaster. You’re right on the money (pun intended) about The Apprentice character. Mark Burnett can take the lion’s share of blame for inflating Donald into the monster he is today. Burnett and his wife founded a media company called Lightworkers (now owned by MGM Amazon). They produce faith based “inspirational” stuff- “wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross” as it were.
It’s depressing and frustrating, to say the least, that so many voters apparently didn’t know or care enough to look beyond “The Apprentice” when choosing their candidate. Yesterday’s court decision exposed Trump for the “businessman” he really is and has been. (Of course the MAGA people probably think it was all a lie.)
My feelings about Biden’s age problem are the same as yours, Susan, but with one exception. I don’t think Hur’s comment was gratuitous. He offered that to explain his decision not to prosecute the case, i.e., that the chances of a successful conviction by a jury were poor because of those factors. This was not just my opinion but that of Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. Attorney, on an MSNBC discussion panel. He alone of the members felt this way and remarked that he expected a lot of push-back for saying it. In normal cases, Hur’s report would have been kept confidential, but the AG really had no choice but to release it because it’s just too political.
As for Kamela Harris, I’m sure she’s very smart and capable but she has negative charisma! Her screechy voice curdles my nerves. It looks like we’re stuck with team Biden.
I confess I didn’t do my homework on Hur’s report. For starters, I didn’t know enough to say his comment was gratuitous; I heard a reporter say that and wondered if it was true. Nor did I realize Hur had said it repeatedly throughout his report as a way of explaining Biden’s possession of the documents. Frankly, my intended focus was the issue of aging and memory — mine and Biden’s.
“Negative charisma” indeed. Ugh. And yes, her nasally voice is incredibly off-putting. It’s so distracting and unpleasant that I usually turn her off ASAP. If I care, I can read it later.
I have spent some time thinking about Biden’s age before and after this report. I think that the attacks on age are coming because there is nothing about his character that can be attacked. That is a huge issue that is being ignored because it is undeniable that there are many, many character issues on the other side. When there is such a huge chasm, little chinks can be picked to death in the press (her emails!!! deplorables!!!) on one side while the vast issues on the other just blend together as the huge number of them make it hard to focus on them in the press. I mean, the paid off porn star… national security documents stored in a bathtub… destroying the interpreters notes after an interview with Putin… separating (and losing) children from their parents at the border… extorting Ukraine… trying to illegally hold power after losing an election… in a normal election any one of these would kill the candidate. It is shocking that his support only grows, and I am afraid that it means that his supporters are thrilled to see someone who spits in the face of norms and the law. The big concern is what this says about them.
So, Joe is old. I don’t want to vote for an old, white man. I don’t want to vote for anyone who came of age when the entitled superiority of white men was a given. I want someone who isn’t so frail. I want a person who is able to get into a scrappy battle with the bad players on the right. The problem with Joe is that is his so empathetic and has a good moral compass. He follows the law and social/legal norms.
So maybe old isn’t the worst thing after all.
I clearly remember the date of my mother’s death, and that day is burned into my memory. I struggled to remember the year and had to do some math to get there. Once you get to a certain age the years just blend together. I think that the remarks about Joe’s memory were a politically motivated cheap shot.
You described my thinking very accurately. Joe can’t help being old, any more than we can. And even if it were an option, I can’t come up with any better candidates. At least not anyone I think could beat Trump.
I’ve seen conflicting views on Hur’s comment(s). One that they wre politically motivated cheap shots and one that Hur included them to give Biden some defense of his handling of the documents in question. I’ve no particular desire to read the report.